Facing military setbacks in its self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq and intensified air strikes from a US-led coalition, Islamic State may have decided in September to take the fight to France and elsewhere.

The ultra-hardline group has frequently threatened to strike inside Western countries since it established itself amid Syria's civil war and then spread to northern Iraq last year, but one fighter reached inside Syria said its spokesman Abu Mohammad al-Adnani had issued an instruction to act abroad.

"He sent a written order to all sectors and security brigades to start moving, including in Lebanon and Turkey," the Syrian IS fighter said via social media from northern Syria.

"Lebanon and France and other places are all part of the operations ordered two months ago."

The deadly attacks in Paris pushed terrorism and the Syrian refugee crisis to the center of the U.S presidential campaign on Sunday, as Republicans hammered Obama administration plans to take in more refugees as well as Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton's stance on Middle East policy.

After officials said one of the Paris gunmen might have slipped into Europe among refugees fleeing Syria's war, more Republicans voiced their opposition to the 10,000 Syrian refugees the White House wants to admit in the coming year.

"Bringing people into this country from that area of the world I think is a huge mistake," Republican candidate Ben Carson said on the "Fox News Sunday" program, echoing comments by fellow Republican contenders on Saturday.

While the U.S. number is a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of refugees that Europe is prepared to take, the plan has become a main point of attack for candidates seeking to show a tougher stance on terrorism.

ReutersCanada’s new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the country will still take in 25,000 Syrian refugees before Jan. 1 but he is facing increasing pressure to tighten screening procedures and slow down the process to make sure that Islamic State infiltrators aren't among them.

by Derek Caney11/16/2015 12:19:08 AM

Islamic State has a twin strategy of state-building within its self-declared caliphate and establishing itself as a "global leader of jihad" in place of al-Qaida. "They wanted to show they are the new al-Qaida ... that this is going to be the new organization that everyone has to be part of. The old organization is dying."

French police raided homes of suspected Islamist militants across the country overnight in the aftermath of the Paris shootings, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on Monday as he warned of potential further attacks.

Valls said that since this summer, French intelligence services had prevented five attacks.

"We know that more attacks are being prepared, not just against France but also against other European countries," Valls said on RTL radio.Read more.

"With 500-1,000 euros (dollars) you can get a military weapon in half an hour" - Bilal Benyaich, senior fellow at Brussels think-tank the Itinera Institute, who has studied the spread of radical Islam in Belgium.

"Our security and intelligence services have stopped something like seven attacks in the last six months albeit attacks planned on a smaller scale. That's one of the reasons we are strengthening the security and intelligence services." - British PM David Cameron.

Oil prices edged up on Monday as France launched large-scale air strikes against Islamic State in Syria, but analysts said commodities were expected to remain under pressure as oversupply weighs on prices.Read more.

by jamillah.knowles11/16/2015 10:04:41 AM

Participants in a Requiem Mass for the victims of the Paris attacks gather outside at St Mary's Cathedral adorned in blue, white and red, the colours of French flag, in Sydney, Australia, November 16, 2015. REUTERS/Jason Reed

by jamillah.knowles11/16/2015 10:06:25 AM

BREAKING: French Interior Minister Cazeneuve says police have conducted 168 raids on homes overnight in attacks inquiry and that 104 people have been placed under house arrest and 23 people have been arrested.

"At this stage, while the authenticity of a passport in the name of Ahmad al Mohammad, born Sept. 10 1990 in Idlib, Syria needs to be verified, there are similarities between the fingerprints of the suicide bomber and those taken during a control in Greece in October," the Paris prosecutor said in a statement.Read more.

French warplanes pounded Islamic State positions in Syria on Sunday as police in Europe widened their investigations into coordinated attacks in Paris that killed more than 130 people.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for Friday's suicide bombings and shootings, which have re-ignited a row over Europe's refugee crisis and drawn calls to block a huge influx of Muslim asylum-seekers.

French police have launched an international hunt for a Belgian-born man they believe helped organise the assaults with two of his brothers. One of the brothers died in the attacks, while the second is under arrest in Belgium, a judicial source said.

A further two French suicide attackers have been identified, police said, while the identity of four other assailants, who were all killed, was still under review. Read more.

BELEK, Turkey, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Turkey notified France twice in December 2014 and June 2015 about one of the attackers in suicide bombings and shootings in Paris that killed more than 130 people, a senior Turkish government official said on Monday.

Turkey only received an information request from France about Ismael Omar Mostefai after Friday's attacks, the Turkish official said. Mostefai entered Turkey in 2013 but there was no record of him leaving again, the official said.

Mostefai, 29, from Chartres, southwest of Paris, is the only attacker to have formally been named by police in France. He was identified by the print from one of his fingers that was severed when his suicide vest exploded.

Turkey received an information request from France on Oct. 10, 2014, regarding four terror suspects but during its investigation identified a fifth individual, Mostefai, the official said. It twice notified France of its findings but only heard back after Friday's attacks.

The senior government official said Mostefai entered Turkey in 2013 but there was no record of him exiting.

Under pressure from Western allies to ramp up its fight against Islamic State, Ankara opened up its air bases to the U.S.-led coalition in July and has tightened border controls to try to stop the flow of foreign jihadists.

But it has complained about a lack of robust intelligence sharing between allies and urged the West to provide more information about potential suspects.

"This is not a time to play the blame game, but we are compelled to share (this) information to shed light on (Mostefai's) travel history," the Turkish official said.

"(His) case clearly establishes that intelligence sharing and effective communication are crucial to counter-terrorism efforts," the official said.

French police have arrested 23 people and seized arms including rocket launchers during wave of overnight raids as part of an investigation into the attacks on Paris, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on Monday.

Over the last 48 hours, 104 people were put under house arrest and police conducted 168 raids last night, Cazeneuve told journalists.

"Let this be clear to everyone, this is just the beginning, these actions are going to continue," Cazeneuve said.

by jamillah.knowles11/16/2015 11:09:25 AM

To end the silence, the crowds spontaneously sing the Marseillaise. Vine by Siraj Datoo

by jamillah.knowles11/16/2015 11:17:38 AM

Brussels police surround houses seeking Paris suspects

BRUSSELS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Dozens of Belgian police, including armed special commandos, surrounded houses in a residential street in the district of Molenbeek on Monday, and the public broadcaster denied a report a man wanted in connection with the Paris attacks was arrested.

State-controlled RTBF carried a denial of a report by private broadcaster RTL that Saleh Abdeslam, a 26-year-old Frenchman based in the Belgian capital, had been detained.

Police said the operation was related to the Paris attacks.

Reuters journalists at the scene in Molenbeek said there had been little movement around police lines. Armoured vehicles remained in position.

The poor district of Molenbeek, home to many Muslim immigrants, has been at the centre of investigations of militant attacks in Paris over the weekend, after it emerged that two of the attackers had lived in the area.

by jamillah.knowles11/16/2015 11:20:00 AM

People observe a minute of silence at the Trocadero in front of the Eiffel Tower to pay tribute to the victims of the series of deadly attacks on Friday in Paris, France, November 16, 2015. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

WASHINGTON No negotiations can be held with North Korea until it improves its behavior, a White House official said on Wednesday, raising questions about U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's offer to begin talks with Pyongyang any time and without pre-conditions. | Video

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